You don’t take a photograph, you make it.
- Ansel Adams
The last 2 decades have seen one of the fastest evolutions our societies have ever known. It goes without saying that with every generations, new technologies were created and introduced to our daily lives. But there is a reason the new generation is sometimes referred to as the “connected generation’. We are talking people born with internet at home. Forget the silver spoon, young ones are now born with an HDMI cable in their mouth. Social networks and connectivity is not measured as the number of people you interact with regularly; it is the number of followers you have on Instagram or the number of friends you have on Facebook, regardless of whether you ever met said people or talked to them even once. Social medias are the core of modern social interactions. Do not deny it, everything happens online nowadays. Twitter is the new LinkedIn for academics. You are no one unless you have a presence online. Scary, isn’t?
Another thing younger generations are known for is the number of photos one takes within a day. You have then two types of photo-addict: the ones that do it because they enjoy it and the ones that do it to show the world how exciting their lives are. I mean, yes, sure, you had a good time, you put it on social medias to show your others friends that you had fun and you’re cool and you do thing… but do you really need to tell people EVERY SINGLE THING YOU DO IN A DAY??? But then, if people follow you, they probably do want to know how you look like or what you’re up to 24/7. Let’s leave here those Insta-selfie takers and other narcissistic in permanent need for validation and focus on taking photos as part of an experience.
Living in the UK, the last couple of weeks have been firework-heavy in commemoration of bonfire day (or Guy Fawkes Day). If you have been seen one of those demonstration live, you probably notice the number of glaring screens pointed towards the sky in an attempt to photograph or video the colourful strikes. Well, those people might have enjoyed the fireworks even more than anyone trying to enjoy the moment screen-free. Yup, you read that right! A series of 9 studies published in 2016 looked at the impact of taking photographs on how pleasant you found an experience and how immersed you felt. Turned out that taking photos acts as an amplifier of a sort: the pleasant moments were even more pleasant and the negative ones even more unpleasant.
The research team combined field studies with lab experiments, covering a variety of experiences and including a variety of people (including people against taking photos while “in the moment”). They investigated how taking photos impacted the level of enjoyment and engagement felt during task (positive or negative), looked at different ways of taking photos (intrusive or non-intrusive), during different types of task (active or passive). Here comes this: regardless of the pre-conception about photos (most participants said it would not impact or reduce enjoyment), all participants that took photos during a museum visit or a city tour reported having enjoyed the experience more and felt more immersed, a part of the whole tour. Taking a photo would improve the experience; the mere idea of taking a photo increase the amount of fun participants had! The problems come when you try to edit, publish, or sort out the photos taken WHILE taking part in the city tour (or any other experience).
Additionally, the research team found that if the process of taking a photo interfere with the whole experience, participants reported a lower sense of enjoyment. That is, if in order to take a photo you have to manipulate a camera that hide part of the scene you want to photograph, it seems to make the whole experience more demanding and less enjoyable. Bear in mind that this study was conducted in the lab, on a computer screen. No study has look at the difference in enjoyment between using a phone or an actual camera, or even between lay people and photographers (professional or amateur).
Finally, if the experience itself was highly engaging, say if you are in a hands-on science museum or at an improv comedy night when you might have to join in, then taking photos on top does not really do anything in term of how much fun you have. It all points in the direction that taking photos, or thinking about taking photos, while taking part in any sort of activity switches your mindset (how you are thinking about the experience) from passive to active. The perspective of taking photos makes you more attentive to everything around you, you look at things with the idea of immortalising them, you’re thinking about how the light creates beautiful patterns here and there. Your eyes are wide open, taking it all in. It seems that “enjoying the moment” might involve taking photos after all.
A word of caution: be aware of your surroundings, all of it… including other people! Taking photos should not be at others’ expense, be aware of whether you are stepping in front of someone or blocking their view with your phone. Let’s show people we can be the connected generation within being the selfish one.
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